The following list shows the line of descent for major winners from the Northern Dancer sire line, tracking patrilineal descent from the stallion dubbed by the New York Times in 1990 "the dominant progenitor of his breed". [1] It focuses on winners of the principal three-year-old Classic races, as these have long been used to evaluate a stallion's success, [2] [3] and the highest quality races for older horses based on International Federation of Horseracing Authorities rankings. A few other highly prestigious races from around the world have been included as well.
Northern Dancer's first major winner was Nijinsky, who swept the English Triple Crown in 1970. Nijinsky in turn established himself as a leading sire, as did several other of Northern Dancer's sons, especially Danzig, Storm Bird (through his son Storm Cat) and Sadler's Wells. [4] Modern descendants of Northern Dancer's sire line include American Triple Crown winner Justify (2018) and the majority of recent English Classic winners including the undefeated Frankel.
Although not covered by the following list, Northern Dancer's influence is magnified in modern pedigrees by the success of several of his male descendants as broodmare sires. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and leading sire Tapit are just two examples of horses who descend from Northern Dancer in an indirect line. [5] [6]
The following races were selected based on notability (for example, the English Classic and American triple crown races), quality (as measured by the IFHA ranking of the top 100 G1 races), [7] [8] [9] and geography (to sample racing from around the world). This list also shows how many winners of the given race descend from the Northern Dancer sire line as of 8 July 2023 [update] (not including Northern Dancer's own wins in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Queen's Plate).
Three-year-old classics:
Top rated races:
Other races of interest:
Michael J. Kinane is an Irish former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009.
{{Infobox horseracing personality|name=Olivier Peslier|occupation=Jockey|birth_date=January 12, 1973|birth_place=Château-Gontier, Mayenne|nationality=French|height=164 cm|weight=55))
Saeed bin Suroor is a horse racing trainer in Great Britain. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training licence in 1995 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation.
Aidan Patrick O'Brien is an Irish horse racing trainer. Since 1996, he has been the private trainer at Ballydoyle Stables near Rosegreen in County Tipperary for John Magnier and his Coolmore Stud associates. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest horse racing trainers of all time.
André Fabre is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer.
Cash Asmussen is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born Brian Keith Asmussen, in 1977 he legally changed his name to "Cash".
Frédéric Head is a retired horse trainer and champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. His grandfather, William Head, and father, Alec Head, who also competed as prominent jockeys and trainers, raised “Freddy,” at the Haras du Quesnay, initially managed by Alec and later by Martine Head, in Deauville until its closure in November 2022.
Yves Saint-Martin is a retired champion jockey in French Thoroughbred horse racing. He is widely considered one of the greatest riders in French racing history.
Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Lyphard was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and an important sire.
The 1995 Epsom Derby was a horse race which took place at Epsom Downs on Saturday 10 June 1995. It was the 216th running of the Derby, and it was won by Lammtarra. The winner was ridden by Walter Swinburn and trained by Saeed bin Suroor. The pre-race favourite Pennekamp finished eleventh.
Blushing Groom was a French champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire.
Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12 January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Greville Michael Wilson Starkey was an English jockey who rode almost 2,000 winners during a 33-year career on the flat.
Darshaan was a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and a Champion sire and broodmare sire.
The 2014 2000 Guineas Stakes was the 206th running of the 2000 Guineas Stakes horse race. It was run over one mile at Newmarket Racecourse on 3 May 2014. The form of the 2014 running of the 2000 Guineas Stakes was of the strongest seen in years, as can be seen from below.
The 1973 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was a horse race held at Longchamp on Sunday 7 October 1973. It was the 52nd running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
The 1979 Epsom Derby was the 200th annual running of the Derby horse race. It took place at Epsom Downs Racecourse on 6 June 1979. With a prize of £153,980 to the winner, the race value was a significant increase on the £98,410 offered the previous year and a record for a race contested in Europe
François Mathet trained racehorses, specialising in flat racing. In France he is well-remembered for being one of the best equestrian trainers in the country's history.